1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates generally to diagnostic functionality provided by a tool, and in particular but not exclusively, relates to the detection and evaluation of grip pressure by a user of a handheld tool.
2. Background Art
Muscular disorders are often caused by chronic neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's Disease (“PD”) and Essential Tremor (“ET”). Many disorders can be severe enough to cause a significant degradation in quality of life, interfering with daily activities/tasks such as eating, drinking, or writing. Such conditions are often incurable, but their progression can be mitigated if early detection is made.
Clinical research suggests that an increasing severity of Parkinson's disease, for example, is indicated by a patient's weakening hand grip. However, clinical diagnosis currently provides little in the way of monitoring to detect for variations in grip strength over time. Grip is typically only assessed qualitatively while a patient is in a clinic in the presence of a physician. Such assessment requires a clinical visit that, due to its subjective nature during a brief period of time, is often prone to errors or intra-clinician variability. Patients' self-reporting is also highly subjective and prone to error. This creates significant challenges when developing and evaluating long-term treatments or interventions for these diseases.